Classes include "aN inTrODucTioN tO SpOngEBob ThEOrY."

If you're at UC Berkeley next year, you'll be able to take some one-of-a-kind classes, including MEME 10: "Pepe, Dat Boi, and Kermit: Frogs as a Symbol of Vulnerability" and MEME 20: "aN inTrODucTioN tO SpOngEBob ThEOrY." That's because the university is starting a "meme studies department," a professor who goes by the name Meme Lord told The Daily Californian.

"Meme studies is the study of a very specific type of expression. Memes are quickly becoming a foundation upon which adolescents are building their relationships," Meme Lord explained. "The campus and I believe that studying the mechanisms by which we come to construct, and in some cases deconstruct, such seemingly simple images is key to understanding the nuances of adolescent communication."

The professor takes this scholarship very seriously. "Memes are the future," he said. "I guarantee that within the next decade, memes will be how big corporations do most of their advertising. Memes will determine elections and changes in the economy and the general social and emotional well-being of our youth. Whoever masters 'memery' will master the world."

The department will launch in fall 2018, and Meme Lord said there's already a research group studying how memes impact people's choices. Sign us up!